James E Baldwin | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/james-e-baldwin
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Sun, 18 Feb 2018 05:38:16 GMT2018-02-18T05:38:16Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
The blue passport is taking back control? No, it was first imposed on us from abroad | James E Baldwinhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/22/blue-passports-taking-back-control-imposed-league-of-nations-burgundy-passport-eu
Brexiters are celebrating the end of the burgundy passport, but the truth is the UK could have had blue passports within the EU<p>On Thursday the Home Office announced the return of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/22/british-passports-will-be-navy-blue-after-brexit-says-home-office">blue British passport</a>, to a chorus of approval from Brexiter newspapers and politicians. The irony is that the UK could have had a blue passport while an EU member. EU member state <a href="https://www.total-croatia-news.com/politics/595-croatia-will-not-change-the-colour-of-its-passports">Croatia currently has a blue passport</a>, after all. In any case – the “iconic” blue passport was imposed from abroad back in 1920 – thanks to the the League of Nations.</p><p>The EU never mandated burgundy passports: it simply produced a standard format that many member states chose to use for the sake of convenience. I imagine that the then UK government assumed that nobody cared that much about the colour of passports. It’s now clear that apparently trivial symbols of national identity are very meaningful for a lot of people. We’ll never know whether, had the government reintroduced blue passports when complaints first arose, the expense and disruption of Brexit could have been avoided.</p><p>After Brexit we will still have to follow the ICAO standard and US demands if our passports are to be recognised abroad</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/dec/22/british-passports-will-be-navy-blue-after-brexit-says-home-office">British passports will be navy blue after Brexit, says Home Office</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/22/blue-passports-taking-back-control-imposed-league-of-nations-burgundy-passport-eu">Continue reading...</a>BrexitArticle 50UK newsEuropean UnionForeign policyPoliticsPassport OfficeEuropeWorld newsFri, 22 Dec 2017 11:38:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/22/blue-passports-taking-back-control-imposed-league-of-nations-burgundy-passport-euComposite: PRComposite: PRJames E Baldwin2017-12-22T11:38:49ZThe Egyptian coup is a warning to Turkey – but will Erdoğan listen? | James E Baldwinhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/16/egyptian-coup-warning-will-erdogan-listen
Like the Muslim Brotherhood, Erdoğan's AK party has alienated opponents. Ennahda in Tunisia shows a way forward for democratic Islamists<p>Egypt's coup was not just a major shock for Mohamed Morsi, but also for the Middle East's most successful Islamist party: Turkey's AK party. When news of the Egyptian army's deposing of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/mohamed-morsi" title="">Morsi</a> broke, Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, cut short his holiday on the Aegean coast and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/recep-tayyip-erdogan" title="">convened a crisis meeting of senior ministers</a>. Over the following days Erdoğan strongly condemned the coup, calling it the "killer of democracy and the future" and referring to Egypt's "so-called administration". Why does the coup matter so much to Erdoğan's AK party?</p><p>One problem is that the Egyptian coup upsets the AKP's vision of exporting its brand of populist democratic Islamism throughout the Middle East. The AKP saw the Islamist parties that were elected after the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt as following its lead, and cemented this connection with aid – including training and equipment for Tunisia's police and a $1bn loan to Egypt.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/16/egyptian-coup-warning-will-erdogan-listen">Continue reading...</a>TurkeyWorld newsEgyptMiddle East and North AfricaAfricaIslamReligionTunisiaTue, 16 Jul 2013 18:38:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jul/16/egyptian-coup-warning-will-erdogan-listenPhotograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/ Chedly Ben Ibrahim/Demotix/CorbisAlthough Ennahda's situation is much closer to Mohamed Morsi's than the AK party's, the coup is less threatening in Tunis than it is in Ankara. Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim//Demotix/CorbisPhotograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim/ Chedly Ben Ibrahim/Demotix/CorbisAlthough Ennahda's situation is much closer to Mohamed Morsi's than the AK party's, the coup is less threatening in Tunis than it is in Ankara. Photograph: Chedly Ben Ibrahim//Demotix/CorbisJames E Baldwin2013-07-16T18:38:48Z